ESYS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Communications Officer
- Communications Officer in the Project Energy Systems of the Future
Annika Eßmann has been working as a communications officer in the project Energy Systems of the Future since January 2024. She is responsible for the content on the website and the social media channels. She learned and improved her craft as a trainee and scientific advisor at acatech. Next to her Master's degree in Science and Technology Studies, she wrote articles as a freelance journalist for various institutions, including the Max Planck Society.
Job Titles:
- Publications and Project Management Officer
Annika Seiler joined the ESYS Project team in January 2024 as Publications and Project Management Officer. She previously worked as coordinator for publications since April 2020. After her studies of Publishing Production Management in Leipzig, she worked as production manager for a publisher of specialist books and journals. Following this, she worked as a media producer and project manager in the publishing sector with a focus on calendars, puzzles and B2B
Benedikte Eiden joined the ESYS project team in June 2022 as a student assistant. She studied Economics at the University of Bonn and Political Science at the Technical University of Munich and is currently enrolled in the Masterprogram of Politics & Technology at the Technical University of Munich. Previously, she worked as a student assistant in the communications department of the acatech secretariat. In the project, she supports the communication team and the scientific advisors in their work.
Christiane Abele has been with acatech since October 2017. Until April 2020 she supported the Finance/Human Resources department as a clerk, since May she has been working as a project assistant for the project Energy Systems of the Future. Prior to this, the trained travel management assistant worked mainly as an assistant for various international companies.
Claire Stark joined the ESYS Project team in February 2023 as a trainee. Since January 2024, she has been working as Communications Officer. Previously, alongside her studies in chemistry, she worked in the exhibition service of a museum of science and technology and at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in the field of science communication.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator for Stakeholder Dialogues
- Deputy Head of Project Office / Stakeholder Dialogues Officer
Daniela Niethammer joined the ESYS Project team in January 2018 as coordinator for Stakeholder Dialogues. Since September 2022, she has been Deputy Head of the Project Office. Her previous activities focused on Franco-German energy cooperation during which she spent two years working for the science and energy department of the French Embassy in Berlin. She studied political science in France and England and specialized in international relations and renewable energies.
Berit Erlach joined the Project in September 2013 and is mainly responsible for the topics of energy scenarios, raw materials, bioenergy and carbon management. Previously, she worked as a research associate at the TU Berlin and wrote her doctoral thesis on bioenergy. After her graduation in energy and process engineering, she worked for three years in an engineering office in the fields of technical engineering and energy consulting.
Job Titles:
- Head of Project Office / Energy Systems of the Future
- Head of the ESYS Project Office
Cyril Stephanos is Head of the ESYS Project Office. He joined the Project Office in March 2014 as Scientific Officer. After his PhD in physics, he did research in the fields of energy conversion and materials science at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. During his time as a PhD student at the Department of Experimental Physics at the University of Augsburg, he also worked at the Department of Resource Strategy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Boards of VDE FNN
Dirk Biermann, born in 1969, is a member of the management board of 50Hertz Transmission GmbH and holds the position Chief Officer Markets and System Operations since April 2012. Before he was appointed, he headed the Energy Management department in the company with responsibility for the energy business like market design, congestion management, ancillary services and renewables. After his PhD studies at RWTH Aachen, Dirk Biermann started his carrier at former VEAG in 1999. In 2002 he changed to Vattenfall Europe AG where he was appointed as a manager with the responsibility for grid strategy in 2004.
Dirk Biermann is member of the boards of VDE FNN and BDEW Berlin/Brandenburg. He is member of the supervisory boards of EEX in Leipzig and TSCNET in Munich and member of the boards of Coreso and EGI in Brussels.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Head of Research & Technology at E.on Group Innovation
Munib Amin works as a managing director and head of research & technology at E.ON Group Innovation. In his work, he aims to bridge the gap between academia and business with joint research & development projects. Prior to his work at E.ON, he held various positions at German-based utilities RWE and innogy, most recently as head of innogy's central market analysis team.
Munib Amin achieved his degree in physics at the University of Kiel in 2004 and his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Düsseldorf in 2009 (both Germany). Thereafter, while working in the energy industry, he conducted the exercises for a lecture on energy economics and technologies at the University of Aachen, Germany, over a period of 10 years. Munib Amin has several mandates in the academic environment and is a member of the Executive Board of the research association IERE.
Florentine Straub joined acatech in February 2011. Until March 2013, she was employed as team assistant for the acatech project centre, since then she has been supporting the ESYS Project Office as a project assistant. Her prior professional experiences include jobs as an assistant in a medical specialist association and as an IT management assistant for various companies.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Head of Project Office / Scientific Officer
Jörn Gierds joined the ESYS project office in February 2022. He particularly focuses on the topics of carbon management, carbon markets, heating market and gas industry. Before joining ESYS, he worked for several years in management consultancies in the energy sector. In these positions, he was particularly involved with topics in the fields of power-to-X / hydrogen, the heating market and grid operation. Jörn Gierds studied Economics and European Studies in Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder).
Job Titles:
- Deputy Head of Project Office / Scientific Officer
Miriam Borgmann started working for the ESYS project in September 2021. She focuses on the topics of energy and carbon markets, photovoltaics and sustainable heat supply. Previously, she worked for a sustainability consultancy for the property sector, where she carried out photovoltaic feasibility studies and sustainability certifications for construction projects. Miriam Borgmann studied Sustainable Resource Management at the Technical University of Munich. In her Master thesis she analysed the recycling of photovoltaic modules using a life cycle analysis.
Philipp Stöcker joined the ESYS project in July 2023 as Scientific Officer. His focus is energy system analysis with emphasis on sustainable energy supply and energy storage. Previously, he headed the department of Grid Integration and Storage System Analysis at the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems at RWTH Aachen University. In parallel, he supported several working groups at ESYS as consulting Scientific Officer since 2014. Philipp Stöcker studied Technical Cybernetics in Stuttgart and San Diego.
Job Titles:
- Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy
Prof. Dr. Andreas W. Bett is director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany and Professor of "Solar Energy Materials and Technologies" in the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Freiburg. He received the Dipl. degree in physics and the state examination in physics and mathematics from the University of Freiburg, Germany in 1988 and 1989, respectively and the PhD degree in physics from the University of Konstanz, Germany in 1992. He joined the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, ISE in 1986. In 1993 he became the head of the group "III-V - epitaxy and solar cells". From 2007 until 2016 he was division director "Materials - Solar Cells and Technology" and from 2009 until 2016 he was deputy director of the institute. In 2017 he was appointed director of the institute.
The main areas of research of Prof. Dr. Andreas Bett include solar silicon material, epitaxial growth of Si and III-V semiconductors, development of characterisation techniques for advanced solar cell devices and the fabrication of solar cells. Furthermore, he develops concentrator module and systems and is involved in field testing.
For his scientific achievements he was honored with several prestigious prizes. He has organized several international conferences and served in many scientific committees. He was also co-founder of the company Concentrix Solar in 2006 and in 2015 of the company NexWafe. In the ESYS project, Andreas W. Bett is involved as co-leader in the working group "Development of Photovoltaics and Wind Energy".
Sven Wurbs joined the ESYS project office in April 2021. His thematic focus is on energy policy and politics, hydrogen economy and sustainable design of supply infrastructures. Previously, he worked in an institute of practice-oriented sustainability research in projects on renewable energies, adaptation to climate change impacts and the development of rural areas, among others. He completed his studies in political science in Berlin, where he focused on inter- and transdisciplinary research issues.
Job Titles:
- Stakeholder Dialogues Officer
Valerie Tilker-Kwan Stakeholder Dialogues Officer Energy Systems of the Future +49 (0)160 557 5360 kwan@acatech.de Valerie Tilker-Kwan has been working as a Stakeholder Dialogue Officer in the ESYS project since March 2024. She was previously responsible for the stakeholder dialogue in the related H2-Compass project. Between her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Economics and Policy in Canada and her Master's degree in Integrated Natural Resource Management in Berlin, she studied linguistics and worked for several years in the educational sector. ×